Metatranscriptomic Characterization of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Identified a Host Transcriptional Classifier Associated With Immune Signaling.

Compared with those with non-COVID-19 pneumonias, COVID-19 patients appeared to have a more disrupted airway microbiome with frequent potential concurrent infections and a special trigger host immune response in certain pathways, such as interferon-gamma signaling. The immune-associated host transcriptional signatures of COVID-19 hold promise as a tool for improving COVID-19 diagnosis and indicating disease severity.